Of Swords and Swashbucklers
by GizkaNation
Summary: The Rose Princess ran into a sloop of war carrying a few soldiers; the shocking part? A blonde girl named Christa Lenz. Ymir thinks that the pirates will just hold her for ransom, but she ends up being more trouble than she's worth. Pirate AU, Ymir x Christa. Rated T for swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This Pirate AU was inspired by the song "Gay Pirates" by Cosmo Jarvis. There happens to be a YouTube video of Yumikuri fan art with this song playing in the background, so I don't know if this has been done before, but I'm hoping that I'm the first! I can't put a link to the video, but please go check it out! Also, I apologize for not using like breaks, but it's difficult on mobile. Cheers!**

~X~

By golly!" rang the lookout's voice. "Sloop of war, starboard side!"

Each crew member cried out gleefully, including Ymir. The wartime sloops, while small and fast, carried only less than thirty guns. In other words, easy pickings for a large battleship such as the Rose Princess. It surged across the waves, clearly a looter's ship thanks to the blistering sun, but the sloop's crew noticed too late.

"Positions!" cried Captain Ian Dietrich. With a growing smirk, Ymir raced to her assigned gun. Accepting a bag of power from on of the runners, she loaded it into the cannon and then shoved in some wadded cloth before dropping the six-pound cannonball into the hole. Thanks to the help of Sasha, a shipmate, the cannon was aimed and the fuse lit. A nearly deafening boom sounded, and the ball of lead rammed into the dainty sloop of war.

"Yes!" Ymir slapped the boat's railing in delight. "Look at that, it's taking in water because of us!"

Sasha shrugged. "If it doesn't earn us extra food, then I'm actually not that interested."

Ymir laughed. "C'mon, help me load another one. I'll give you half of my potato!"

Her friend's eyes lit up at that. "What are you waiting for?" she yelled, stuffing another bag of powder into the cannon. The cloth wad followed, and Ymir loaded yet another cannonball. She struck a match and lit the fuse.

"Another hit!"

After hardly another minute of barrage, the sloop hauled up its white flag of surrender. A cheer rang throughout the pirates as the Rose Princess sailed triumphantly up to its prize. Along with a few other boarders, Ymir leapt down onto the low deck of the sloop. Hands were tied, gold was plundered, and cannons were dumped overboard. There weren't many officers from the Royal Navy, and the ship had a strange lack of strategic documents. Nonetheless, they were all thrown in the brig.

Back on the Princess, a bizarre turn of events came into play. A blonde girl was discovered, too young to be in the Navy but too old to be a runner or a powder monkey. Nobody was quite sure what to do.

"Just look at 'er," a crew member said, laughing. "Kinda cute, if ya think about it."

There was a murmur of agreement, but the girl in question didn't seem to be afraid at all. How odd.

Reiner Braun laughed. "Gordon, you're such a pervert. Isn't there anything else you think about?"

"Nah." Gordon grinned.

Chatter broke out amongst the crew. Most were arguing over what to do with her, as the captain had already retreated to his quarters. When Gordon finally decided to make a move, Ymir stepped in.

"Now don't you boys lay a hand on her," she said. Her tone was mocking, but her eyes sent the message to stay away. "She's going straight to the Captain, whether you like it or not." Once she had pushed through the crowd, Ymir grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her along, receiving no protest. A few men sighed in disappointment, but appeasing them was hardly a concern.

"Thank you," the girl said quietly as they moved at a brisk pace.

"The hell are you thanking me for?" she countered quickly. "We're pirates, you should be terrified."

"Of those guys, maybe, but you seem nice enough."

"This is no favor to you," Ymir insisted. "This is to get good with my captain."

"Captain Ian!" She shouted as she approached his door and knocked. "There's a situation that needs your judgement!"

The man opened the door with his usual frown. "Is this the situation?" he asked, eying the blonde girl. "I don't see the problem."

Ymir shrugged. "We're not sure what you want us to do with her."

"Hmph." He stared down at the girl, his height acting as an intimidation factor. "Who are you?"

"Me?" After a nod from Ian, she added, "Christa Lenz.

"Well, Christa Lenz, are you a part of the Royal Navy?"

"I… um…" She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" he echoed. He turned to Ymir. "Bring her to the brig, separate cell. You're keeping watch down there tonight."

"But Captain," Ymir protested, "That's supposed to be Reiner's job today."

Ian narrowed his eyes. "She's young and there are men on this ship. I trust you more than them right now. I explain this out of respect for you, but as my subordinate I expect you to follow my orders without question."

She nodded and gave a salute. "Yes sir."

"Wait here." He ventured back into the cabin and returned secondary later, handing her a ring with several brass keys on it.

Without another word, the captain closed the door, sending the pirate on her way. Ymir held a loose grip on Christa's arm as she escorted her to the brig. The brig had a large containment unit for mass prisoner storage, but there were a few single-person cells for unusual cases. As they descended down the stairs and passed the long segment of iron bars, Ymir could see the glaring faces of the prize sloop's crew. At first, she was tempted to laugh, but after a moment she realized that the angry stares were directed at Christa. Ushering the girl along, she found one of the single cells and unlocked it with one of the keys from the ring.

"Here you are," she said in a sarcastically courteous manner. "Home for an indefinite amount of time."

Christa hesitantly stepped inside. "Are you sure this is necessary? I don't exactly think I'm a danger to you."

"Of course you aren't," Ymir scoffed. She swung the door shut, and the lock clicked back into place. "Suppose you were wandering out and about, though. What's to say you don't slit our throats with a spare knife?"

"I wouldn't do that!" she argued, clearly flabbergasted by the notion. "Why would I-"

"It's hypothetical, darling. Don't get so offended." Ymir dragged over a wooden chair and sat down so that she could view the entire brig. Christa's cell was positioned at a corner, giving Ymir a perfect view of the whole room.

"Do I look like I would do that?"

She shrugged, leaning forward to analyze her for a second before responding. "You look like you have something to hide. Care to share?"

Christa instead crossed her arms."I don't need to give away my life story to a pirate."

"I don't think you're having the effect you're intending," Ymir said with a chuckle. "That's more endearing than stubborn."

"In that case, I don't think _you're_ having the effect _you're_ intending," she countered.

"Oh really?" Ymir smirked.

"Really."

"And what would that be?"

Christa paused as if collecting her thoughts. "You act all tough, but you would never hurt anyone."

"You gathered this through ten minutes with me?" She laughed. "That's bullshit. I've killed before."

"On purpose?"

Ymir was taken aback by the query, making her hesitate before giving an answer. "Yes."

"I don't think so," Christa said. "If that were true, you would have answered informally or nonchalantly. I expected you to get defensive, maybe get louder."

"What are you, a damn psychologist?"

"I can read people pretty well." She grinned. "See, now you're defensive. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you're not the fearsome pirate you think you are."

"Like I'd care," Ymir said, brushing off the statement. "Just because I don't kill doesn't mean I won't put a bullet through anyone who says otherwise." She pulled aside the edge of her crimson coat, revealing a shiny new pistol. "You included."

"You wouldn't kill me."

"I never said I would." She let the coat fall back into place, concealing the weapon once more. "There are places someone can get shot and live, you know."

"You'd shoot me?" she asked skeptically.

"Well… no." Ymir sighed. "Only because the Captain has a strict no-maiming policy when it comes to prisoners. They're more valuable that way."

"So you plan to, what, auction me off the highest bidder?"

"In a sense, I suppose." She shrugged. "You were traveling with the Royal Navy. I'm sure you're worth something back in the capital. We could even demand a ransom."

A new voice entered the scene. "Good luck with that." Gruff, sarcastic, and undeniably male.

Ymir stood from her chair to find the voice's owner; a sailor leaned against the bars of the brig, his arms hanging out. He had a scowl twisted across his sharp features.

"Have something to say?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She's not even worth a gold piece," he spat, glaring at her. "You'd be better off dumping her in the ocean."

She stared at the man for a few tense moments before barking out a laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."

"We sailed all the way out here to do just that," he continued. "Might as well kill her."

Ymir looked back at the blonde girl, and her face held an expression of anger with a hint of surprise. Turning her attention once again the the seaman, she narrowed her eyes.

"Keep yapping and I'll break your fingers, one at a time. Got it?"

He backed away from the bars, hands raised submissively. "Sure." His sudden change in demeanor revealed his cowardice; Ymir knew that simple threats could strip away the outer character of many men. "Not another word."

With an exhale that could pass for a laugh, she sank back into her chair. _What a fun job I have_ , she thought to herself.

"Hey, Ymir!" She looked over to see the tall blond-haired boy walking purposefully towards her.

"Reiner." She acknowledged his presence with a nod.

"This is my shift. What are you doing?"

"Ian's orders," Ymir said simply. "Says he doesn't trust any of the men with her." She jerked a thumb in Christa's direction.

He frowned. "Did the captain really say that?"

"Yes, he did. If you have an issue, take it up with him."

"I don't really care." It was clear that he did, but he let her alone, walking towards the stairway from which he came.

"Oh, Reiner?"

He stopped and turned to face her. "What?"

"Can you grab me my hat?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. "Fine. You owe me."

"For a hat? If that's what you want."

Reiner returned shortly, tossing Ymir the black pirate's hat. It was stereotypical in design, with gold stitching around the edges, however instead of crossbones, the front face held a pair of roses embroidered onto the fabric.

"Thanks!" she called as he stalked up the steps. Setting the hat onto her head, she grinned. While it was inconvenient at best and no one used it in battle, the hat made her feel like the pirates from legends. Of course, the swashbucklers were always depicted as villains; the Princess' crew, for the most part, were not villains.

"So it's Ymir?"

Ymir cast a sideways glance at Christa. "Yeah."

"That's… unique."

She scoffed. "Thanks for the input."

"Sorry. I've never heard that name before."

"That's because I'm not from Leithal."

"You aren't from Leithal?" Christa echoed. "But there aren't any other nations in existence. How could you-"

"Hush," Ymir interrupted, silencing her. "You don't get to hear a life story if I don't get to hear one." Christa just crossed her arms again, and Ymir laughed in her head at how adorable it was. "Now then, if you'll be kind enough to pipe down for a while, I'm getting my rest."

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping watch?"

"Nothing happens down here," Ymir answered, pulling the brim of her hat low over her eyes. "It's not as if you'd be trouble."

Christa was, thankfully, quiet for the rest of the night. Ymir drifted off to sleep, and when she woke up, she nearly choked.

Christa was gone.

And so was her gun.

~X~

 **A/N: Okay, first chapter! Be sure to let me know what you guys think. If there are any characters or ships other that you want to see more of, don't be afraid to review! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I forgot to mention that Leithal is the fictional nation where Christa and the Royal Navy are from. It's structured just like the wall society, but with a Navy instead of a Survey Corps. Oh, and no titans.**

~X~

 _Shit_ , Ymir thought, panicking. _Shit, shit, shit._

She sat up calmly, despite her inner feelings, and began moving towards the stairway. The ring of keys was missing too, but she wasn't worried about the other prisoners being freed; if Christa wanted to do that, she would have already done so.

Ymir hurried up the steps and reached into her coat for her other gun. She kept another for emergencies, such as if she were in a tight spot in a gunfight and needed some extra firepower. She was equally skilled with dual pistols as with one, so having only the spare wasn't much of a hindrance. When she reached the deck above, she found that the hallway was empty. Everyone was likely still asleep.

She quickly scoured that level and didn't see any sign of Christa. It was doubtful that she had gone into one of the cabins, but she would return to check if necessary.

Ymir found her on the deck. She was leaning on the edge of the boat and facing the ocean. She approached Christa quietly, inching closer. However, one of the floorboards creaked as she stepped on it, successfully ending her stealthy approach. The blonde spun around, but Ymir quickly familiarized the girl with the barrel of her pistol.

"Out for a stroll?" the brunette asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I- um, that is…" Christa stammered, visibly at a loss for words. Ymir found it adorable.

"Thinking of jumping?"

"No!" She shook her head. "I was just looking at the ocean."

"Oh, and that's all?"

"That's all."

That was obviously not all. Ymir could see the glint of silver that was tucked up Christa's sleeve. She had probably picked it up somewhere off the deck; her crew mates were always leaving small pocket knives and switchblades lying around.

"I see. Well, you should follow me back to the brig." Ymir lowered her gun before turned away and stepped forward slowly, waiting for Christa to make a move. She did.

Ymir pivoted to grab her arm as it swung down, interrupting its floor-bound arc. She squeezed the girl's wrist, causing the dagger that she was clutching in her hand to fall to the ground with a metallic clang. Christa yelped in surprise, a wave of panic overtaking her deep, blue eyes.

"Well that's rude."

Christa began apologizing immediately, and Ymir rose her eyebrows as she saw tears come to her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she blubbered, falling to her knees. "Please don't kill me!"

Ymir watched with an amused expression. She knelt down to eye level, lifting the girl's chin with a finger. "Come now, darling, I thought you knew that I can't hurt you. Rules are rules, after all."

Christa gazed into her golden eyes carefully. She quickly wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ymir just laughed. "No, you're not, but that's okay. You're just looking after number one, aren't you?" She stood up to her full height, offering Christa a hand. "Well get up off the floor, now, you're much too pretty to be sitting in the dust."

A small hand grasped hers, and Ymir pulled Christa to her feet with ease. She hadn't responded to the brunette's casual flirting, which was even more amusing for said girl. She wondered if Christa had chosen not to say anything or was just oblivious about it.

"Another thing, blondie." Ymir looked at her expectantly. "I'd like my gun and my keys back, thank you."

Christa sheepishly handed over the requested items. "Sorry about that…"

"Enough apologizing already. I would've done the same." She laughed. "I mean, I probably would have succeeded in escaping, unlike you."

"Oh."

They returned to the brig in silence. As Ymir ushered Christa back into the cell, she was glad that nobody else seemed to be awake to notice the blunder. A few hours and some small talk later, the rest of the crew seemed to be rising from their slumbers. It was some time before Reiner arrived to deliver food.

"Breakfast time for everyone!" he announced, making his presence known. He doled out ration bars to the sailors and to Christa. To Ymir he gave a sweet roll and a nearly-empty bottle of rum.

"Hey, Ymir, Bertolt will be down in ten minutes to relieve you of your shift. Captain wants you on deck to man the cannons, just in case."

Ymir gave a mocking two-fingered salute. "Thanks, Reiner."

As she gratefully chewed on the sweet roll, it occurred to her that Christa was having a hard time with the ration bar. She chuckled as the blonde took a bite before spitting it out, visibly disgusted.

"It's not supposed to taste good," Ymir explained with a grin, "it's supposed to keep you alive." Despite saying that, she handed the rest of the sweet roll to Christa. "Here. Give me that bar."

Christa gave her the stale chunk of food. "Thank you," she said as she accepted to bread. "Really."

"Don't mention it. You want some rum?"

"I… I'm underage," Christa answered, a light blush tinting her cheeks.

"No shit." She huffed in such a way that it could pass for laughter. "That's never stopped anyone."

"Don't you know about alcohol poisoning? And what it can do to your brain?"

"Oh, please, you can't be a pirate without rum. You're probably too small anyway. I don't think your tiny body could handle any of this stuff."

"Don't make fun of my size," Christa insisted.

"Whatever you say, short stuff." She smirked, sipping her rum slowly so as to savor the small amount that was in the bottle. "You're even shorter than Leonhart."

"Who?"

"Ah, right. Annie Leonhart. She's kind of a bitch, but cool to hang around."

"Another pirate, then?"

Ymir nodded. "You might meet her sometime."

"You think I'll be here long enough?"

She set down her bottle. "Eh… I'm not sure," she answered after a short pause. "You know…"

Christa frowned. "What? You're thinking about something."

"Mhm." Ymir tapped a finger against her forehead. "You wouldn't make a bad pirate, I think."

"I… I'm not following."

"I'll talk to my captain about it," she continued, ignoring Christa's remark. "In the meantime, say hi to Bert."

"Bert?"

Ymir motioned to the tall boy walking towards them. She waved to Bertolt as he approached. "Hey there, Colossal Titan," she greeted with a grin.

"Oh, you too, Ymir?" he asked, furrowing his brows. "I'm not that tall."

"Yes, you are. Have fun babysitting, Bert."

Christa apparently had heard that and taken offense. "Hey!"

"Please. You're small enough to pass for a kid."

~X~

Christa watched as Ymir walked down the hallway for as long as she could. She was left with the dark-haired boy, Bertolt.

She broke the uncomfortable silence. "Um… hello."

"Hi." Bertolt spoke quietly, more so than anyone else that she had seen on the boat. "You're Christa Lenz, right?"

"That's me. You're Bertolt?"

"Yeah." He wrung his hands together awkwardly. "Look, I'm sorry about the current situation. You seem pretty harmless."

Christa laughed. "That's what Ymir said."

"I'm sure she did. She doesn't really have a filter."

"So I've noticed."

Bertolt shrugged. "You seem to be pretty comfortable, despite the circumstances. Have you been held prisoner before?"

"No." Only after answering did she realize that it was meant as a joke.

He just chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing on that sloop?"

"Just… traveling." It was a horrible lie and Christa knew it; thankfully, Bertolt seemed to buy it.

"Were you a stowaway?"

"Not really."

He took that as explanation enough. "Ever been outside of Leithal?"

She shook her head. "Never. I thought it was the only nation."

"So then you've never heard of Marley?"

"What's that?"

"Nothing of importance." He smiled. "Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we'll be sailing into the port soon. After that, I'm not sure what will happen."

"The port? Is that a pirate hideout or something?"

Bertolt laughed. "We're docking in Leithal."

"Oh."

"We should be there any minute, in fact."

"What do you thin-"

Christa was cut off when the ship suddenly lurched to the side, shaking from the impact of something large. "What was that?" she asked, alarmed. She steadied herself against the bars.

"Ship must be under fire," Bertolt muttered. "Stay calm." He drew a gun from his belt.

"But it starts taking in water-"

"Then the prisoners could drown, I know."

Christa forced herself to take a deep breath. She heard shouting from the upper decks and the ship shook again, more intense than the time before. The sailors from the Royal Navy were yelling to be let out, but Bertolt stood unmoving. Thundering footsteps sounded, descending quickly down the stairs. Christa looked over, peering through the barred door so that she could see the situation. Sprinting into view were numerous uniformed soldiers from Leithal's Royal Navy.

Bertolt aimed his pistol, but he was outgunned for sure. Leading the charge was an angry-looking, green-eyed boy who had a gun trained on the taller one. With a sigh of resignation, Bertolt raised his hands in surrender. "Dammit," he muttered to himself.

Christa wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified as she was freed from confinement; on the one hand, she wouldn't face the threat of being sold for a ransom. On the other hand, however, a certain noble had the entire military in his back pocket. A single word and she could be on another ship to the middle of the ocean.

"Hey," the green-eyed boy said, "What are you doing in here?"

"I was with the sloop that they raided," she replied nonchalantly. "

"But you aren't…" He shrugged. "I'm Eren, and you're being rescued."

Christa was tempted to laugh at his introduction. "Well, thank you. I'm Christa."

One of the newly free sailors broke out in a coughing fit, and she looked over at the display. Once he got over the spasms, he stood up straight and shook his head. "Sorry."

The scene was quickly forgotten as battle sounds could be heard from the decks above. Eren gave Christa a reassuring look and said, "Just stay behind me and you'll be fine," as the sailors were armed.

Out on the open deck, the situation was chaotic. Bullets were flying everywhere and metal clashed against metal. Christa could admire the graceful style of fighting with which the Navy soldiers fought, full of side-stepping and lunging with deadly rapiers. The pirates fought dirty, though, ganging up on the sailors and throwing sand. A bullet whizzed past her ear, breaking her out of her daydreaming, and she focused on staying behind Eren. She found her eyes searching the scene for Ymir, but the smug girl was nowhere in sight.

Eren fired his gun once, and she recognized the blond mass that fell to the floor in pain. _Reiner_ , she thought, _his name is Reiner_. It only then occurred to her that many of the pirates that shed had seen couldn't have been much older than her.

The rest of the skirmish flew by quickly. The pirates were outnumbered and were defeated. The Navy sailors took complete control of the vessel, and the sloop's crew rejoiced when the swashbucklers were locked in the brig.

"We'll sail back to Leithal," Eren explained to her. "We can get you back to your family then."

"Okay." _That's what I'm afraid of,_ she said to herself

"You're awfully calm," he pointed out.

"That's how you keep your head," she answered with a smile. "Getting scared or angry doesn't help anyone."

"Interesting perspective." He returned the gesture. "Well, I think I'm going to go see what kind of stuff they've got stored in the kitchen. Feel free to do whatever you like. We'll arrive shortly."

Christa nodded as he left. Somewhere in her brain she thought that it would be a good idea to visit the pirates down in the brig.

~X~

 **Next chapter should be coming up soon! I intend it to be significantly shorter than these two, but I might end up writing more if I feel like it. I appreciate the favorites and follows. Thank you so much for that! I'd love to hear your thoughts, of course, and what characters you want to see, either as pirates or as soldiers in the military. See you soon!**


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